A man who runs a community farm in Bristol, left with an uncertain future after council cuts, has been growing his hair and beard for almost a year – so he can shave it all off to raise funds.

Barrie Lewis, the director of Hartcliffe Community Farm, had initially decided to do a head-shave to raise money for cancer charities, after his sister was stricken by the disease, so gave up the razors and the trips to the barber in September last year.

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Mr Lewis said he carried on growing the beard and hair until the day when it would be ‘really needed’ – and that day will come this Sunday, at a huge fun day and fundraising event to try to save the farm.

There will be a mixture of children’s attractions – face painting, bouncy castles and so on, along with a jumble sale, bar and live music from DJs, a violinist and even former mayoral candidate Stoney Garnett.

And in the middle of the afternoon, the moment will come when Barrie’s hair – from head and face – are snipped back after a year of unchecked growth.

“It’s come to this, and I really hope people get behind me and sponsor me and support the farm,” he said.

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“We want to keep the farm going. It’s been here for 50 years, and we’re trying all we can to get the money together for this. We’re doing it for the children – so many children come here and love it so much, and they can’t speak up for themselves.

“Since the council cut our £15,000 grant, we’ve struggled on, but it is hard. We need every penny.

Rocky Pearce, at Hartcliffe Community Farm back in February (Image: Dan Regan)

“I’m now out at midnight selling eggs, just to raise a few pennies. We could do with some more volunteers – we’ve got a great team but could always do with extra help.

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“We really need thousands of people to come to this, it’s going to be a great day,” he added.

“Hartcliffe always has to do things for itself. We’ve had a bit of a patchy time with the council. They gave us funding, then they didn’t, then they did again, and now they aren’t anymore. But they’ll still give a lot more money to the other city farms in Bristol,” he added.